Making the Cloud Work for You

There is a lot of confusion currently about cloud computing. Questions abound both in terms of what it is and what it is not. And of course, there is a healthy dose of disagreement on whether it is really the next big thing.

Here at Rackspace, we think that it is and we are investing heavly in making it work for your business. But many businesses are not quite sure, and understandably so. There is risk, as well as reward, in early adoption of new technology.

A new survey taken at the Mid-Sized Enterprise Summit West reveals that while some business are actively embracing the cloud, and others have already implemented 1-2 cloud-based apps, most are curious but hesitant (see graphic below).

This hesitation on the part of medium-size businesses comes in part, I believe, from not understanding what the cloud is and how it can work with, not against, their current IT setup. Moving to the cloud doesn’t mean ditching your current systems entirely. Instead, it can be a process that lasts a number of years, making sure that you’re comfortable with the changes and their impact on your business.

How many years? Well that depends on you and your business. Over time, the trend will be to the All Cloud Enterprise, but to get there, firms will move through a series of stages (see graphic above). The most important thing in all this, however, is making sure the cloud works for you, not the other way around.